MESA, Ariz. — When A’s shortstop Marcus Semien looks over to his left this season, it’ll be an unfamiliar site.

For the past three seasons, Semien had grown accustomed to Jed Lowrie manning the right side of the A’s middle infield. But with Lowrie now a New York Met after a season in which both he and Semien were finalists for the Gold Glove at their positions, Semien will have a new double-play partner in Jurickson Profar.

While the two have never played together, Semien is well aware of Profar’s game. He enjoyed watching Profar in his time with the Rangers and even recalls former A’s third base coach Ron Washington, who coached Profar during his time as manager of Texas, frequently praising the second baseman’s skills.

“I always knew he was a good fit,” Semien said. “Even going back to when Wash was here, he always would say he wished we could get that guy over here. And we finally did.”

Semien and Profar were paired up in the same group for infield drills Saturday. It was the first day of formal workouts for all A’s position players and the start of the familiarization process for the duo.

It’s a relationship that they’ll look to gel quicker than usual with the A’s trip to Japan in March cutting down their number of spring training games.

“We’ll match those guys together all spring and when we play the games, we’ll try to get those two guys in there together,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “We’ll try to speed it up that way, but I think Marcus will make it easy with Jurickson in that any time he wants to go do anything extra, Marcus is really good about that.”

Semien doesn’t foresee the adjustment to Profar taking too long. Based on what he saw in their first workout together, Semien was impressed with what he saw and believes it will only take a handful of spring games to learn each other’s tendencies.

“You could tell he’s a good teammate and a hard worker. Those guys from Curuçao can play,” Semien said. “There’s a good group of infielders from that island.

“With a new middle infield partner, you need to get a little extra work in on the backfield and hopefully BoMel can put us up the middle every game so that we can get better. I know there are other guys who can play second as well, so we’ll see how he mixes it up. But I’d like to play pretty much every game with him if I could.”

But it’s not just Profar’s defense is looking forward to.

Coming off a year in which he hit .254 with 20 home runs, 35 doubles, six triples, and 77 RBIs, Semien believes Profar is evolving into the player many around baseball expected him to develop into when he was dubbed the No. 1 prospect in the game.

“He’s got the same swing he always had, but that arm injury kind of slowed him down,” Semien said. “He got to the big leagues so young and so quick and made an impact. He had a tough injury but has bounced back well.”

Semien, 28, isn’t necessarily your typical grizzly veteran, but he is a leader in the clubhouse. With Jonathan Lucroy having left for the Los Angeles Angels in free agency this offseason, Semien has filled the team’s role of player representative.

It’s a logical choice given his tenure, the most senior member of the club as he enters his fifth season with the A’s. But Semien is also ready to serve as more of a leader to Profar or any of the many young players in the clubhouse. Though given their talent, Semien doesn’t expect them to need too much guidance.

“I just lead by example. Even the young guys are leaders. It’s a very unique group,” Semien said. “I have been here the longest but there are guys older than me who have been around baseball longer.

“Anything I can do to help any young guy, I’m always going to do that. But young guys like (Matt) Chapman, (Matt) Olson, and (Chad) Pinder have been leaders their whole life. There are not many guys that need too much direction.”

Martin Gallegos is a multimedia beat reporter covering the Oakland Athletics. A native of San Jose, he frequently attended ballgames at both AT&T Park and the Oakland Coliseum as a kid. Prior to covering the A's, he covered the Earthquakes, San Jose State football, and high school sports around the Bay Area. A self-proclaimed "Burrito Connoisseur," Martin is constantly on the search for the best burrito in each Major League city.